For the MS.com year end recap we didn't do a Best Shows of 2006. The ranking of albums was painful enough and the thought of comparing snapshots of bands in the live setting that one of us happened to check out doesn't seem fair, or all that helpful. My cynical nature overwhelms any informative tidbits those kinds of lists may have by filling me with thoughts of blowhardness towards the author. They sorta reek of show offy-ness. Way too many variables outside the control of the musicians exist to provide fairness to such a ludicrous list, at least that’s my thought on the subject.

However, I fully understand the drawing power that nicely put together lists have on the reading public so I won't dwell on this further. If you disagree with me that is fine. I suggest immediately subscribing to SPIN as they are fond of lists. They suck pretty bad but for $10 a year you get what you pay for. We're still not going to publish one, but if I was asked, say on the street by a stranger, or a friend at a party who just found out I write for a music blog what my favorite show of 2006 was I would not hesitate in answering: Daft Punk's performance at Coachella.

You could read all about why I thought so in my review here. Then head to Urb's website to see the entire video of the performance culled from expertly edited clips of concertgoers video footage. Pretty excellent way to get my morning started (via BV).

Previously:

Sans teleporter, Merry Swankster's actual Coachella Setlist | Day 1 recap
Coachella 2007 Dates Set | Expanding to 3 days

Posted by Merry Swankster at 12:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Day four of MP3 bombing ends today. Have a happy Friday.

Belle and Sebastian - "Sukie in the Graveyard"

"This song has a distinct Bowie vibe. With a character driven story named in the title and everything."
//Original Post

Tapes 'n Tapes - "Insistor"

"Tapes ‘n Tapes have been described as Pixies-esque, but I would add that their sound is more like what Nirvana would have actually sounded like had Kurt fully embraced Frank Black and co."
//Original Post

Sonic Youth - "Incinerate"

"I could listen to these two digress into the night indefinitely...wait a second! Did Sonic Youth turn me into a jam band fan? If so, can I sue?"
//Original Post

A Sunny Day in Glasgow - "A Mundane Phone Call to Jack Parsons"

"Guitar, both in soft ringing and ominous white noise form whooshes around the vocal refrain as complementary elements bleed in and out of the mix as they please."
//Original Post

Holy Shit - "Written all over your Face"

"This song is excellent. Highly Recommended."
//Original Post

1900s - "Patron Saint of the Mediocre"

"Rhythmic vocals and jazzy music take a walk through the psyche-rock park to say “hello, howdy, hi” to The Zombies"
//Original Post

Peter Bjorn & John - "Young Folks"

"When I first heard it I thought (with Camera Obscura in mind), "Man, alot of girls are sounding like the chick from the Concretes these days." Then I look it up and of course it is the girl from the Concretes."
//Original Post

Colourmusic - "Circles"

"Can Brian Wilson harmonies share space with familiar bombastic crispness of the Flaming Lips, stay on pace with twee pop acoustic guitars, and elevate into high-register vocals? Sure they can."
//Original Post

Thieves Like Us - "Lady"

"[S]trange but cool, a dance party for sleepwalkers."
//Original Post

Asobi Seksu - "Strawberries"

"Shoegaze touchmarks sure, but this one moves around too much to bore with an endless drone as genre purists might demand."
//Original Post

Posted by Merry Swankster at 09:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Installment number #3 of the best from MS Picks of 2006.

TV On the Radio - "Wolf Like Me"

"Song of the year"
//Original Post

TV On the Radio - "I Was a Lover"

"One is tempted to play kindergarten teacher and take the finger paints away from guitarist/producer Dave Sitek before it all turns out a brown blob."
//Original Post

Long Blondes - "Giddy Stratospheres"

"The first [Long Blondes] track I heard, and I was already sold at the handclap intro."
//Original Post

Islands - "Swans (Life After Death)"

"Islands completely trounce BSS in the more prestigious "10 minute long epic" event. "Swans..." is all build up for its first 7 minutes, stumbling forward with an infectious energy before FINALLY deciding to rock it out for its last three minutes. A decisive knockout, really."
//Original Post

Islands - "Rough Gem"

"The Islands desire to emulate African pop structures Paul Simon style has been well documented, and the sunny melodies and skittish rhythms of this album standout are a testament to that. As the album comes to casting off the long shadow of the uni-horned ones."
//Original Post

Boy Least Likely To - "Monsters"

"If Louis Perlman works with sugarcane at his Orlando bubblegum shit-Pop factory, then Boy Least Likely To is a British summation of blissful indie pop and potent coca leaves."
//Original Post

Deerhunter - "Heatherwood"

"He's seems to be singing about death and rebirth, and sounds disturbingly optimistic. Like a man who knows some things that we don't. How to concoct such a glorious jumble, for one."
//Original Post

The Knife - "Heartbeats" (Planningtorock remix)

"Hey, sick of "Heartbeats" yet? Me neither. I do wish I could hear it again for the first time though, and this remix sort of makes that happen."
//Original Post

Animal Collective - "People"

"This unintelligible epic starts calmly as guitar strum and wayward piano flutters lounge about on the grass. As the speed nudges up, nervous tingles emerge in the form of incessant drumstick-ery."
//Original Post

The Rapture - "The Sound"

"This song is for those of you wanting to find the breaking point of a set of speakers."
//Original Post

The Blow - "Fists Up"

"DJs, you now have your transition song after Tribulations."
//Original Post

Posted by Merry Swankster at 09:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

End of year smorgasbord of the best 'MS Picks' of last year continues!

Sunset Rubdown - "Us Ones in Between"

"Has there been a more hauntingly beautiful song released this year?"
//Original Post

Sunset Rubdown - "Three Colours II"

"[Spencer Krug] sings in breathy run-on sentences, a quivering desperation complicating the jangly guitar. The sonic results are impressive as SK's voice takes on an even more desperate tone, alone, facing down the chill outside."
//Original Post

Frog Eyes - "The Oscillator's Hum"

"About as catchy as this band comes, but also characteristically uncompromising."
//Original Post

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - "Hyperballad" (Bjork cover)

"With only a minimal guitar line to hold the vocals up, the song is given a sad facelift not unlike Cat Power's signature reinterpretations. Here is a narrator afraid to be alone, killing time back at her cliff, waiting to be joined by her lover."
//Original Post

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - "Cheated Hearts"

"A funny, tongue in cheek lyric in which Karen addresses fan fears of a Gwen-ish caterpillar to boring/glossy butterfly transformation head-on goes:

"I'm taking, taking, taking, taking, off/ Sometimes I think I'm bigger than the sound/ I think that I'm bigger than the sound."

Danielson - "Did I Step on Your Trumpet"

"As Dan drops sideways lines like "You so much about my casket/ My body basket/ Did I do something wrong?" the girls echo his sentiments and add their own. In this case the creepy, "We'll grant one more social clue/ the landfill shall be home to you." They also slyly subvert the original message at some points, with "Yes I know how to be quiet" becoming "He thinks he knows how to be quiet." The sung equivalent of a sisterly eye-roll."
//Original Post

Taxi, Taxi - "To Hide This Way"

"Like mirror image twins (identical twins who have opposite features, e.g. one right-handed, the other left-), the Berhan siblings strike the perfect counterpoints."

//Original Post

Silversun Pickups - "Well Thought Out Twinkles"

"Driving rock with the sleeves rolled up because it’s about to get messy."

//Original Post

**The War songs**

"Regardless of blue/red, right/left inclinations consensus remains on the nightmarish reality of war. War is bad, war is hell." - Merry Swankster, 9.11.06

Celebration - "War"

"Effusing urgency through a marching snare, looping keys and questioning lyrics, its no wonder this track was produced by David Sitek from TV on the Radio."
//Original Post

The Ballet - "I Hate the War"

"The whimsical nah-nah-nahs inspire not to be the soundtrack to some theoretical peace rally. They are busy carrying the melody of disguised twee-pop with the very anti-cutesy deadpanned singing."
//Original Post

Pink Mountaintops - "Plastic Man, You’re the Devil"

"An awesomely psychedelic harmonica serves the jittery release out from the chorus, cutting through the track like an epic hangover aggravated by a small earthquake. ...doobiefyng the administration's foreign policy is quite the accomplishment."
//Original Post

Posted by Merry Swankster at 09:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This week we'll be recapturing some of our favorite moments of 2006. Think of it as a bloggy version of tv clip shows.

Raconteurs - "Store Bought Bones"

""Store Bought Bones" is insane. A siren-mimicking guitar riffs urgently, acting as prelude to the proggy disaffected vocals of Jack White & Brendan Benson. The Greenhorne rhythm is deep and warm filling the bottom end well and painting accents at all the right changes."
//Original Post

Raconteurs - "Steady As She Goes"

"Straightforwardness and simplicity, exactly what you’d expect from a White fronted band. Unlike the sparse White Stripes sound, the fuller sound we always sort of wished for is here."
//Original Post

Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins - "Big Guns"

"[It's] Loretta Lynn country, not the crap that passes for country these days. With "Big Guns'" lyrics like "Have mercy on me cause we're tired and lonely and we're bloody" you must agree."
//Original Post

Love is All - "Felt Tip"

"It starts with a lone bass line. A good, strong bassline. One you can hang your hat on. Then, in a flash, it’s over. But not before dropping all the accumulated elements away once more to give the original bassline a well deserved curtain call."
//Original Post

Love is All - "Motorboat"

"Starting off with a boat motor that sounds suspiciously like a 8 bit NES "Spy Hunter" sound effect, and seguing into stomping horn and drum beats, this track evokes a sweet party where the din of accumulated conversation threatens to make any meaningful one on one interaction completely impossible."
//Original Post

Liars - "The Other Side of Mt. Heart Attack"

"A belated response from the man whom "Maps" was famously written about? That's my take, but it could also be about a German goblin, I guess."
//Original Post

Long Blondes - "Autonomy Boy"

"Getting 20-something NYC kids to dance at an apartment party shouldn't be that hard, but for some reason it is. This song, however, achieved lift off for its entire length when trotted out in a recent social expirement."
//Original Post

Subtle - "The Mercury Craze"

"Is this kind of keep you guessing song structure and varied instrumentation standard in underground hip-hop these days?"
//Original Post

Jarvis Cocker - "Black Magic"

"Here in a brass balls display, our pal Cocker lifts the "Crimson and Clover" backing track for his own end, and not in a vague way like YYY's "Our Time" did."
//Original Post

Fujiya & Miyagi - "Ankle Injuries"

"This krautrock workout is cleanly in the pleasure zone."
//Original Post

Viva Voce - "We Do Not Fuck Around"

"The husband and wife team take from the Roger Waters playbook of black (musical) comedy and manage to keep it sweet and catchy."

//Original Post

Posted by Merry Swankster at 09:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Working on a year end list is an exhausting undertaking. Creating a public snapshot of the year involves dancing delicately between critical analysis and personal preference. The love had for songs from eleven months ago versus current crushes is not easily reconciled. Nor is it immediately rewarding to create lists that feels like trying to rank favorite siblings. Filtering whatever metrics of good, better, and best from the memory reservoir is hard shit man.

For the relatively short time period of one year, the process is never going to be - and does not have to be - perfect. Factor in lifelong problems with chronic procrastination and I'll show you a recipe for an anxiety cupcake frosted with neurosis and attention-deficit disorder sprinkles. Computer-chair psychoanalysts will diagnose these issues with finality as commitment phobia. I prefer paraphrasing the immortal words of the late, respect-starved comedian, "So what? So lets dance!"

2006 is days away from being a Reynolds wrap of generalizations. Every blogger worth his salt has posted varying lists for a footnote in the zeitgeist. Every aspect of Culture and culture is deemed rank-able. "Hottie," "worst album," "most overexposed (ed note - Brit's vage - (little "c"))," and so on. For the extended list turn on VH1 at ANY TIME during the day so a D-List comedian, quasi-celebrity can digest (re: puke) it all for you using pop culture nuggets that haven't been given the proper 15 minutes to set. But enough about that.

I am pleased to present the Top 10 albums of 2006 according to MerrySwankster.com:

TOP 10 of 2006

1. The Long Blondes - Someone to Drive You Home

//The Long Blondes - Someone to Drive You Home - buy

2. TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain

//TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain - buy

3. Sunset Rubdown - Shut Up, I am Dreaming

//Sunset Rubdown - Shut Up, I am Dreaming - buy

4. The Blow - Paper Television

//The Blow - Paper Television - buy

5. Asobi Seksu - Citrus

//Asobi Seksu - Citrus - buy

6. Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins - Rabbit Fur Coat

//Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twisn - Rabbit Fur Coat - buy

7. Danielson - Ships

//Danielson - Ships - buy

8. Liars - Drum's Not Dead

//Liars - Drum's Not Dead - buy

9. Belle & Sebastian - the Life Pursuit

//Belle & Sebastian - the Life Pursuit - buy

10. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Show Your Bones

//Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Show Your Bones - buy

Continue reading "MS.com Presents: BEST ALBUMS OF 2006" »

Posted by Merry Swankster at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

True, no year is a bad or great year in music – it’s like claiming that today’s global temperature is warm – there are too many factors.

But I couldn’t banish the phrase, as I set up to give you my picks, made popular by the incredibly unpopular former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. And so, as I present a surprisingly rap-dominated list for your year-end enjoyment, I offer these words: “You go to press with the music you have, not the music you want.”

Here it goes; this one is for all (five?) of you twee/misogynistic hip-hop apologists out there.

My Favorite Albums of 2006

1) Clipse - Hell Hath No Fury

It’s the soundtrack to a "Glockwork Orange." Meta-critic alert – Listening to Clipse in the Tate Modern (idiosyncratic appeal alert), I felt a pang of sadness that the group barred its 2006 album Hell Hath No Fury from entry into the Top Ten, due to their monomaniacal pursuit of proving themselves as drug dealers. Sample line: “Ain’t spent one rap dollar in three years, holla.” The implication being that their coke game is still open for business and supplying their revenue for rims, etc. But in the subsequent weeks, the album just grew on me and turned into something I loved, perhaps more than anything else out there this year.

Clipse has accomplished many unique things: one, it makes you really try to put an objective claim to art and two, it provides an album that, initially monotonous, grows on you as you listen further.

To the second point, so much coke slang makes Tom Cruise’s public affection towards Katie Holmes look rational. But even the most ardent fabulists take keys (pun unintended) from their environment, so, yes, they likely were coke dealers. But onto the music, taking concern in their product, they enlisted Pharrell Williams who, while ruining a decent first single with his guest rap, provides a varied, futuristic soundtrack for their equally bombastic rhymes.

Trill features a menacing, futuristic organ that would fit in well with some ultra-violent activity; the South meets Space Oddity. Keys Open Doors prompts an ethereal choral loop that sounds like it would great travelers as they paid their two coins to Charon. Dirty Money: For good measure, Pharrell throws an off-kilter Casio noodling with a steady 808 beat, giving the MCs the opportunity to switch from steady structure to improvisation. This track probably sums up why this album is dope. Pharrell provides a blueprint, through the percussion, for Malice and Pusha T to push forth their rhymes, but the oft-times unbalanced melody track allows them to explore their vast street hustle vocab.

Clipse could very well become a one-gram-pony footnote in XXL’s 21st century issue, but this is the one for the vault.
// Clipse - Hell Hath No Fury - buy

2) Asobi Seksu - Citrus
Few albums are capable of sustaining beauty throughout, as accomplished by Asobi Seksu on its second album. From the positively euphoric opener Thursday to the languorous closer (save for outro) Exotic Animal Paradise, the group oscillates pace, but appears incredibly comfortable in their range – never pushing beyond their particular scope, but never failing.

But that in no way means that this is a simple or unambitious album – while singer Yuki does not explore much territory with her voice, the band investigate changes of pace, the introduction and quick termination of overlaying soundscapes, and pursuing spurts of guitar droning in feedback, to return to a revealing clean sonic palate.

It would be farcical to call this shoegazing (even on lyrical matters). This is pretty straight-forward dream pop. There are not too many heirs, but I would say it’s an amalgamation of Belle & Sebastian (tone), St. Etienne (voice and lyrical structure), and Echo & The Bunnymen/Kitchens of Distinction school of post-post-punk (guitar work).

Strawberries provides the best snapshot of the band at its best, introducing guitar, then drums, then bass, then Yuki, only to switch gears to highlighting her ethereal voice, then plunge into a mini distortion shred, and back to the initial melody.
//Asobi Seksu - Citrus - buy

3) Long Blondes - Someone to Drive You Home

No band has captured the attention of MerrySwankster.com as much as the Long Blondes, and for good reason. The band’s sneering post-feminism in lyrics feels more real than any of their contemporaries. Rather than postulating some devastated, can’t-go-on shtick or heartbreak-less self-important egotism (both espoused by, say, Beyonce), the combination of earnest lyrics and Kate Jackson’s half-sneer, half-pout, the band embodies its own marketing material (“sexy and literate, flippant and heartbreaking all at once.”)

This album, a long time coming, featured reworkings of a lot of the earlier stuff. So there was bound to be some letdown. The new sheen on Separated by Motorways removes the edge and urgency and takes the song further away from Erase Errata and more towards Elastica. It is still fantastic, of course.

Album standout You Could Have Both, combines sarcastic brilliance “Just when you’re ready to take on the world, some other girl had to get their first,” with a straight chugging anthem with super-clean guitar rifts. Recorded late in the Long Blondes legend, this is clearly the track that allows the listener to give Jackson his or her full attention, while the melody sets the table.
// the Long Blondes - Someone to Drive You Home - buy

4) The Blow - Paper Television

Lost amidst the Lily Allen canonizing, the States had a much more talented and inventive wordsmith, complete with backing music that did not sound like a Robbie Williams Sing While You’re Winning retread. You can tell that the Blow is Khaela Maricich’s project, because of the fantastic Fists Up where she sings with the music, rather then over it. In what could easily devolve into a “a woman and Casio” failure, Maricich deftly navigates maritime march drums, electronica squeals, DFA-era bass progression, and surf rock-lite.
//the Blow - Paper Television - buy

5) Cat Power - The Greatest
Chan Marshall famously drops booze from her personal repertoire, but retains the boozy feel with an album of standards-like songs enhanced by a backing studio session band. As with any Marshall offering, the subject matter is mostly dire, but the major difference is that she seems involved in the heartache, rather than taking the distanced approach in previous albums. Maybe it’s the wagon. Willie, Living Proof, and Love and Communication sound very 00’s, and the rest feel like a nice travel to the past.
//Cat Power- The Greatest - buy

6) The Pipettes - We Are the Pipettes
While one could feasibly downgrade the Pipettes because they were a concept before a band, to do so would exclude every band. For profit or for love, they sensed there could be a great contemporary 60s girl group album, and they straight captured it. The chorus pipes on Your Kisses Are Wasted on Me,” set the Internet on fire, and later gems I Love You and Pull Shapes provide balance to what is a very solid effort. Maybe they caught an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but, by doing so, they reminded us about how beautiful harmonizing women set to strings can be.
//The Pipettes - We Are the Pipettes - buy

7) Ghostface Killah – Fishscale
Exceeding the longevity of his Wu-Tang contemporaries by years, Face always brings passion. I’d argue that his last two albums didn’t have the weight of Ironman, and his meta-Rocky moment (“You haven’t been hungry since Supreme Clientele”) introducing one song admitted as so. So this Fishscale business is straight hustle, and Ghost is cantankerous as ever. And the thing about Ghostface – like early Ice Cube – is he really is a storyteller more than anything else. Witness from “Shakey Dog, “Throwing ketchup on my fries, hitting baseball spliffs, in the backseat, knees all stiff.” Sometimes, even hip-hop stars, have had the ignoble position of riding in the back.
//Ghostface Killah – Fishscale - buy

8) Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Show Your Bones
Brooklyn’s favorite art punkers got a brilliant sheen, and survived. While it’s easy to focus on nihilist offerings Bang and Art Star, the tenderness of Fever to Tell’s Maps and Y Control made the emotive tracks from its newest album less surprising. Cheated Hearts is as close to anthemic as the band should probably ever get, while epic Turn Into breaks into a nice Theremin solo. Surprisingly, Fancy, the most like earlier YYY material, works the least. Maybe art punk no longer applies. I can live with that.
// Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Show Your Bones - buy

9) Camera Obscura - Let's Get Out of This Country
If one were inclined to take Traceyanne Campbell’s ubiquitous lugubriousness as a bit much, one peek at the video for Lloyd, I’m Ready to Be Heartbroken only makes it more confounding. Is she acting unhappy? Is she really an overjoyed woman playing a part? I’m not sure, but few could handle such mournful songs set to generally poppy beats with such consistency. From early 80s pop to swinging twee to country organ, the only constant is Campbell’s tender voice dishing out the sadness.
// Camera Obscura - Let's Get Out of the Country - buy

10) Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins – Rabbit Fur Coat
Lewis’ oddly gospel-influenced secular album is much more to her speed than Rilo Kiley, where she is pretty constrained. Her voice, molasses strong and slick, fits nicely into low-country licks and Watson Twin-harmonizing. This is a dust bowl plains album that fits so nicely in urban listening situations. Big Guns sounds like it’s from O Brother, Where Are Thou? Pt. 2: The Search for Curly’s Gold.
//Jenny Lewis & The Watson Twins - Rabbit Furcoat- buy

[Continue reading for honorable mentions.]

Continue reading "BEST ALBUMS OF 2006 - THREE TAKES - PART 3 - KEITH O'BRIEN" »

Posted by Keith O'Brien at 11:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

My prediction was wrong. Urban Hitchhikers didn't blow up this year, nor did they make the top ten.

My Favorite Albums of 2006

1. TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain
Because the band's flavor of experimental rock is constructed to challenge conventions yet never loses sight of listenablity factor. Because the talent level of TV on the Radio is unmatched. Because the music they created on this album is edgy and cerebral. Because the well thought out arrangements beg to be explored long after the "difficult" rub of the first spin fades away. Because this is the only album of 2006 that has gotten better the more I hear it. Because TV on the Radio had David Bowie sing on "Province" and hardly anyone notice. Because "Wolf Like Me," "A Method," "Dirty Whirl," "Let the Devil In," and "I Was a Lover."
//TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain - buy

2. Islands - Return to the Sea

The ex-Unicorns J'aime Tambeur and Nick Diamonds co-founded the Islands with a sound that admittedly gravitates towards the tribal pop of Paul Simon's "Graceland." The nod represented on tour shirts that read, "I AM A ROCK YOU ARE THE ISLANDS." Though the band's initial tour saw Tambeur leave the band, and efforts to legitimize Islands as the real 'here and now' have been somewhat of an uphill climb, people like me who never got into the Unicorns don't care. The opening opus of "Swans (Life After Death)" stretches and acts like the proverbial breakthrough vehicle by using nine and half minutes to introduce the band to the world. The plunge into hip-hop on "Where There's a Will There's a Whalebone" does not fare so well, but the excellent contemptuous humor throughout the album, especially on "Volcanos," "Humans," and "Rough Gem" outweighs the rough spot quite nicely.
//Islands - Return to the Sea - buy

3. Sunset Rubdown - Shut Up I am Dreaming

Spencer Krug works very hard. His second band in as many years churned an album of abrasive (opposite of smooth, not painful) arrangements complementing the stewing madness of Krug's voice and lyrics. His third band, Swan Lake, confirms insanity, err...prolificness. A truly unique vocal styling provides a tortured artist element to the songs. On "Us Ones in Between" it pulls the heartstrings, on "They Took a Vote and Said No" he begins with lullaby dum da dums and competes with bells to a draw. Poetry in observation and free associative elements of thought elevate Krug far above his contemporary songwriters.
//Sunset Rubdown - Shut Up I am Dreaming - buy

4. Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins - Rabbit Fur Coat

Adorable Jenny Lewis drops Rilo Kiley bandmates and enlists the unflappable Watson twins for help on the country-soul wisdom of Rabbit Furcoat. This is a beautiful album that even when inciting for a reaction, remains delightful. Songs wrestle with themes of faith with irreverence that somehow does not venture into offensiveness. It certainly pushes the prodding pretty deep. Jenny laces her lyrical vinegar with sweet honey in songs like "Rise Up with Fists" where she targets the "suspect lives" of the hypocritically self-righteous in a contrarian look at everyday denial: "Are you really that pure sir, thought I saw you in Vegas, it was not pretty, but she was (not your wife)." Ouch.

Aimed towards both the obvious and not so, questioning like this pops up often. She turns the target towards herself on the wispy "Happy." The poignant song is the most faux-optimistic song of the year. Noting life's ability to hammer, and chip away true contentment. "My momma never warned me about my own destructive appetite, or the pitfalls of control, how it locks you in your grave, looking for someone to be saved under my restraint...so I could be happy hee heee heee."
//Jenny Lewis & The Watson Twins - Rabbit Furcoat- buy

5. Long Blondes - Someone to Drive You Home

Feminist point of views represented on this list, none likely to be rallied upon at university women's studies classes, share a strange virtue that should make the militant, ra ra ra-ing equality set angry as hell. Like Khaela Maricich of The Blow, Kate Jackson spits tales that do not drip in self-assurance. Especially when they almost exclusively refer to her preoccupation with the men in her life. On "Heaven help the new girl," the words focus on the poor sucker that follows her with a douche ex. She inhabits the role of a shy girl, the seemingly invisible type that keeps tabs on everyone else though hardly ever getting a notice. All the while fantasizing for a sexual breakthrough on "Only Lovers Left Alive," and "Giddy Stratospheres." Jackson provides unsolicited advice on "Once and Never Again," in a guiding tone that comes off as counseling she wished she received herself as a young girl. As a suspicious and languishing housewife she pines for excitement while another "Weekend Without Makeup" comes and goes. All the while the sharp and dance-y '60s girl-group via Elastica touches don't hurt.

The Long Blondes don't rely on tricky wordplay. Relationship references tend to be universally attainable and the songs on Someone to Drive You Home are no exception in that department. Subscribers to the "Rock is dead" school of thought complain that "It's all been said." Perhaps. The Long Blondes just say it better and have much more fun doing it.
//Long Blondes - Someone to Drive You Home - buy

6. Tapes 'n Tapes - The Loon

Lo-fi Minnesota outfit garnered boatloads of attention early this year with this fantastic debut. Swirling blog praise locked Tapes 'n Tapes as the 2006 edition of the ongoing case study in indie music hype in the post-Napster, Web 2.0 era that YOU help build. Sure the sideshow of bloggers stepping on each other for that piece of the elusive MSM credit of discovery was, is, and likely will continue to be hilarious. But as long as the Internet's wordsmiths do their part in spreading the goodness I guess I shouldn't complain. I suppose the ensuing hilarity can be a good problem to have. I should note that Tapes 'n Tapes are not successful because of blogs. The harvesting of the Pixie archetype and cleverly written lyrics are what get ya.
//Tapes 'n Tapes - The Loon - buy

7. The Blow - Paper Television

Paper Television was the most fun album to play at any given time of the day in 2006. Minimalistic beats hold the foundation behind the flawless rhythmic delivery of Khaela Maricich. Creating comfort not unlike the warm feeling of a stiff drink and the enveloping coziness of a comfy chair. The home for said chair would be a hip lounge, preferably with great lighting and fabulous looking people. This is the type of album that gets played on a loop at high-end thrift shops catering to the boho set. Sexual doubts and bad decision making are given plenty of room to expand here. Vulnerability interlaced with outstanding electronica. You won't ever hear Beyonce say she's honored to just be a part of Jay Z's threesome.
//the Blow - Paper Television - buy

8. Asobi Seksu - Citrus

Post-shoegaze Brooklyn J-pop! Apologies for possibly creating a new rock sub-genre, but how else do you describe Asobi Seksu's melodic shoegaze? Artists can claim scorn towards these descriptions of their craft, but omitting hair splitting terms makes explanatory prose that much harder. Lead singer Yuki Chikudate's ethereal voice is the main attraction getter. She effortlessly switches from English to Japanese and it somehow never manages to lose the catchiness. Chikudate's vocals are amazing, but without the vivid sound providing a platform she would be another talented singer fronting a just okay band. Lets take apart the indie hit "Strawberries," shall we? The song is irresistible from the moment the jangly guitars begin looping in measure one. They break at minute 1:00 for a flight through a church-like chorus before fanning back into spaces opened up by Haji's clunky bassline. The final :45 seconds press ahead like an army on a mission of destruction - all weapons forward. Such force exerted that the final :10 seconds is nothing but coughed up feedback. One song, but illustrative of the other eleven tracks.
//Asobi Seksu - Citrus - buy

9. Pink Mountaintops - Axis of Evol

Drifting away from the rock-porn of self-titled debut by replacing suspect satire with dark snapshots of the world. Mixing a production that sounds like operating room sounds weaved into cues from Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd, and by their own admission "trucker speed," Stephen McBean's Pink Mountaintops kick out the jams. Unafraid to provoke, Axis of Evol accomplishes the goal with a subdued, druggy obviousness that can be described as clever. As political jabs on world affairs go, I haven't heard anything better than "Plastic Man, You're the Devil."
//Pink Mountaintops - Axis of Evol - buy

10. Yo La Tengo - I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass

Unafraid to test the listener, Yo La Tengo encapsulates I Am Not Afraid... with a hodgepodge of styles and bookends the album with noisy and lengthy shoegaze numbers that pass the ten minute mark. Those motherfuckers. "Beanbag Chair" satisfies indie-pop purists, "I Feel Like Going Home" massages the sweet spot of Simon & Garfunkel longing, "I Should Have Known Better" grabs the energetic power-pop set, the glorious falsetto of "Mr. Tough" kicks up the twee parade through the dancefloor "and pretend[s] everything can be alright." Blasphemy alert: Noodle-guitar tones and the offset harmonies that could easily be confused for a better singing Trey and Mike on "The Race is On Again" ventures dangerously close to Phish territory. Don't kill the messenger people. I'll go on... The best track on the album "The Room Got Heavy," includes stirring bongos that sound like they are being played underwater. Coupled with a disembodied voice walking briskly around the color palette painted by looped keys and a breathy fender rhodes and the soundscape is as rich as you'll ever get.
//Yo La Tengo - I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass - buy

[Continue reading for honorable mentions.]

Continue reading "BEST ALBUMS OF 2006 - THREE TAKES - PART 2 - MERRY SWANKSTER" »

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The eagle eyed and well read among you will notice that this list is the same as one that ran a week or two ago over at Prefix. I apologize for the sloth, but it seemed Sisyphean to try and re-write justifications for the exact same albums using different words. But, like any good re-release, this one comes with bonus tracks, in the form of some Honorable Mentions.

On with it, already...

My Favorite Albums of 2006

1) Sunset Rubdown - Shut Up, I am Dreaming

Mothers eating their babies, mobs of persuing snakes, subcomittee votes on eye gouging; with dreams like these you'd think Spencer Krug might welcome an interruption. Looser, weirder, and more art-damaged than Wolf Parade, it's like Spence has always been dreaming of this band. Krug's uncaged songwriting is darker and more beautiful than that of his peers. A flavor of the month can't last for two years can it? I guess that means he's for real.
// Sunset Rubdown - Shut Up, I am Dreaming - buy

2) Liars - Drum's Not Dead

Reducing Liars' achievement to colonizing already discovered ground isn't being honest. Perhaps old-timey noise terrorists stumbled across these visceral sounds decades ago, but they never found a way to make them really work. Emerging from their Cold War bunker with a cohesive song cycle full of brutal rhythm and surprising melody, Liars acheived what artniks before them couldn't. Getting a bike with wings off the ground briefly before crashing isn't inventing flight, after all.
// Liars - Drum's Not Dead - buy

3) the Long Blondes - Someone to Drive You Home

Back in the Nineties while the British music press tore themselves apart trying to solve the great Blur vs Oasis debate, sullen teens knew that neither answer was correct. They sat in dimly lit rooms with their Pulp and Elastica records and plotted revenge. Stylish, supremely catchy revenge, no less.
// the Long Blondes - Someone to Drive You Home - buy

4) TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain

TV on the Radio's sound can only be described with sketchy made up terms like doo-wopacolypse. This time, instead of coasting on that shock of the new, TVOTR used their sonics to craft sharp songs. Sleepy neo trip hop, buzzing shoegaze, industrial clamor, and blistering dance rock all held together by huge vocal talent. When you bring Bowie in to sing, and completely blow him out of the studio, you've got some to spare.
// TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain - buy

5) the Knife - Silent Shout

Silent Shout is an experiment to see how alien a band can sound and still generate genuine empathy. Karen Dreijer's voice warps and contorts, threatening to completely segregate her from humanity. The dark electro that surrounds her offers no supporting warmth. Yet somehow, these abstracted tales of family ties and mundane living manage to connect. They can wear masks if they like, but the need to share of themselves is thankfully never completely obscured.
// the Knife - Silent Shout - buy

6) Love is All - Nine Times That Same Song

Almost every line sung by Josephine Olausson seems to come with a built in exclamation point. Bouyed by guitar rips, sprinting drums, and irrepressible horn blasts, silly everyday sentiments like "WE LIKE THE SAME KIND OF CHEESE!!!" come across as if she didn't notice the caps lock was stuck on. The enthusiasm is contagious, making this perhaps the most life affirming no-wave pop record ever.
// Love is All - Nine Times That Same Song - buy

7) Danielson - Ships

In which Daniel Smith enlists a legion of contributors to sound more like his brainy, polite self. Whether penning propulsive odes to library books, lovesongs to a suffix, or ingeniously re-naming caskets "body baskets," Dan exudes more casual intelligence than all the cranks who he outranks. While his love of the Lord is always going to get more ink in a heathen scene, it's the love of language that makes this unmissable.
// Danielson - Ships - buy

8) Belle & Sebastian - the Life Pursuit

If his lyrics are to be believed, Stuart Murdoch hung his boots up and retired from the disco floor nearly a decade ago. He apparently never had the heart to throw them out completely, as this release sees him cutting a rug in glam, funk, and sunshine pop styles. For the pale shut in fans of yore, there's also classic twee laments like the gorgeous "Dress Up in You". Something for everyone on this, the band's best offering in ages.
// Belle & Sebastian - the Life Pursuit - buy

9) the Fiery Furnaces - Bitter Tea

The dichotomy between sublime and annoying is likely one that will define Matthew Friedberger's career as long as he's writing music. There's helpings of both, but the newfound Motown bounce of the best material makes treasure hunting through the backwards gibberish a necessity. It's Eleanor's haunting deadpan that makes the cryptic come alive though, weaving tongue twisters into heartbreak with ease. As Matt's knotted solo albums confirmed, he needs to be saved by her grace.
//the Fiery Furnaces - Bitter Tea - buy

10) Peter Bjorn & John - Writer's Block

Not content to dominate the world in the areas of perfect cheekbones, standard of living, and smoked fish, Sweden flaunts its overflowing pool of genius pop with another stunning release. The doe eyed whistling single, "Young Folks," garned all the attention, but that stellar duet was by no means the only treat PB & J had to offer. In fact, the consistencicy of the low key hooks throughout makes the album's title a laughable misrepresentation.
//Peter Bjorn & John - Writer's Block - buy

[Continue reading for honorable mentions.]

Continue reading "BEST ALBUMS OF 2006 - THREE TAKES - PART 1 - JEFF KLINGMAN" »

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